Kaab el Ghazal (Gazelle Horn Cookies)
Published Dec. 3, 2024
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup/140 grams raw sesame seeds
- 2cups/250 grams almond flour (not super fine)
- 3tablespoons/42 grams unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔cup/133 grams sugar
- 2tablespoons orange blossom water (see Tip)
- ¼teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1large egg white
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)
221 calories; 16 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 47 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Step 2
Spread the sesame seeds on a sheet pan and toast in oven until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through to make sure they toast evenly. Set aside to cool, keeping the oven at the same temperature. When cool, transfer the toasted seeds to a small, shallow, flat-bottomed bowl; set aside.
- Step 3
In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix the almond flour and butter together until thoroughly and evenly combined and the mixture is spreadable.
- Step 4
Add the sugar, orange blossom water, cinnamon and salt; mix to a moist, paste-like dough.
- Step 5
Divide the dough into 14 pieces, about 1¼ ounces/35 grams each, then shape each into a 3½-inch-long log.
- Step 6
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the egg white in a small, shallow, flat-bottomed bowl next to the bowl of toasted sesame seeds.
- Step 7
Lightly coat each dough log in egg white, then immediately coat in the roasted sesame seeds. Use your fingers to mold each sesame-coated log into a crescent shape, pinching gently to give the crescent a slightly tapered ridge, then place on the lined baking sheet. (The shape should mimic that of a crescent moon or gazelle horn, like an open C shape or boomerang. The shape should also have a tapered ridge, so that the ends are slightly narrower and shorter than the middle.)
- Step 8
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
- If you don’t have orange blossom water on hand, you may swap in the zest of 1 orange or use another flavoring like 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom.
Private Notes
Comments
These were delicious! I did substitute orange peel for the orange blossom water and the mixture was having a hard time coming together, so I squeezed a little orange juice into it which really helped and added a nice flavor That being said, the forming for me was tough, mine turned out more like fat bananas than crescents If you have the same ‘problem’ you will have to bake it a little longer, I added 5 minutes Very good flavors, I truly enjoyed this recipe and think the result is worth the extra effort
@Sems.eats there are different types of gazelle horn cookies, the ones covered in sesame seeds are common in Morocco
I think this is a gluten free version as it states in the intro.
Hey, I get the whole crescent-shaped symbolism and everything, but like many others commenting here, it was a mess trying to roll these things into logs, dip them in egg white, roll them in sesame seeds, and then shape them into crescents. Besides sticking to your hands and getting all gooey, they kept breaking when I tried to bend them. Then, as mentioned repeatedly here as well, they came out looking like fat, bananas more than anything else. I had a little dough left over after making 14 of them, and so I just rolled those into balls with some sesame seeds tossed into the mix and they came out beautifully. If you want to avoid the hassle of all of this rolling and shaping, just forget the egg white, add some sesame seeds to your mix and roll the whole thing into little balls and bake them. The delicious taste is the same, and they are far more portable, storable, and you get a lot more bite-size cookies than if you go for the fat banana look.
My family’s absolute favorite Passover cookie (and I make a lot). For those who eat sesame seeds this recipe is a complete winner.
Hi I made a couple of different batches, I mixed my hand, one time, and the other I did in the food processor. I used Kirkland almond flour as I could not find any others. I found that the cookie melted and split open appeared to be broken after baking. The taste is very good, but I was wondering why that happened, in the pictures the Cookie looks very put together. I wonder if I should've added some regular flour instead of doing it fully with almond flour. Did anyone else have the issue?